What TNA SHOULD Be Doing, But Won’t

As news broke about the pending World Title match between Kurt Angle and EC3, which will now take place on the July 1st episode of Impact Wrestling and not the Slammiversary PPV, it leaves TNA fans to wonder, What the hell are they doing? It’s bad enough they’re taping post Slammiversary episodes prior to the PPV, but now, they’re putting the TNA World title in limbo for the PPV? In a time where TNA has been very consistent with their story lines and feuds, who could possibly come in and challenge Kurt Angle for the title at Slammiversary?

Pardon the rant on this whole thing, but this leaves a lot of doubt in the minds of TNA fans and certainly gives fuel to those that take every opportunity to be critical of them. As a TNA fan myself, this doesn’t really do much as far as lifting my confidence in their abilities to turn things around. And that’s what this editorial is going to be about. What TNA needs to do to attempt to turn things around. We all have read the unconfirmed reports of their pending cancellation from Destination America. With no word from the TNA or DA brass to debunk such rumors, one would think it’s a good possibility that there may be some truth to these rumors. And if that’s the case, common sense says TNA should be doing whatever they can to turn things around. So let’s look at some of the things they should be doing, but won’t, to turn things around.

GET OUT OF THE IMPACT ZONE.

If you’ve watched TNA over the past couple weeks, you know that, despite the shows being pretty good, the atmosphere is completely lifeless. The Impact Zone is sucking the energy out of what otherwise could turn these pretty good shows to very good shows. There are so many things wrong with the Impact Zone. For starters, it’s a Jeff Jarrett concept and TNA should really move on from that. Secondly, out of the close to a thousand non-paying fans that show up each taping, more than half are just wandering in while on vacation in Orlando and looking for something free to do after dropping big bucks in Universal Studios. Thirdly, these are non-paying fans, which means they’re giving up a revenue stream. As a business owner, would you rather perform in front of 500 or 600 paying customers, or 800 or 900 non-paying customers? Simple math. You’re supposed to be in business to make money, not break even or just get by. But, since they’re relegating one of their two PPV’s of the year to this same, lifeless, energy-draining venue, we know that they won’t be leaving their happy little home, even though they should.

FIND SOME AREAS AND ESTABLISH AN IDENTITY

There are certain areas in this country that just extemely hot for wrestling. In the two weeks that ROH has been on DA, I’ve noticed a couple of things. One was a decent crowd. The other, was the scroller at the bottom that listed their upcoming tour of live events. I’ve seen shows coming to the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds, NRG Arena, and Cedar Park Center. Now TNA has done very well in a place like Texas. Back when Hogan insisted they go on the road full time, TNA went into it without any plan. One week they were in Illinois, the next, they were in Arizona. It all seemed spotty and random. Despite that, everyone could tell the difference as there was a diverse crowd and an energy to the shows. Now, TNA is a company who’s parent, Panda Energy, is located in Dallas, TX. Between Dallas, Arlington, Irving, Allen, and Fort Worth, you have about 8 or 9 venues that would be the pefect size for them and all are within an hour of each other. It should be the easiest thing in the world to establish an identity there. Big market, big wrestling fan base, ties to the community, etc. It’s the perfect formula to create and establish a major presence. TNA should take to the road and run shows all throughout the state of Texas, but we know that they won’t.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

It’s no secret to anyone that has been in discussions with me recently, of my feelings on how TNA is handling what should be the new cornerstones of the company. Just the other day, I mentioned that no episode of TNA Impact should happen without Drew Galloway, Micah, and Eli Drake. Add Bram, EC3, The Wolves and you have a strong nucleus of young, very hungry wrestlers ready to take the reigns of the company and guide them into the future. EC3 needs to win the title off Angle, defeat him in the rematch, and start a program with Drew. Keep Angle, Anderson, MVP, and Hardy around for name recognition but keep them away from anything prominent. We should be seeing long lasting feuds for the X Division between guys like Kenny King, Spud, Mandrews, Tigre Uno, Cruz, Manik, Low Ki, DJZ, and NOT GRADO. TNA should be putting all their emphasis on the future, but we know that they won’t.

I hope I’m wrong in all of this. I hope TNA is actually planning on the things that I have listed here today. The pieces are in place. The potential is there. If there ever was a time that they needed to transition, it’s now. Some of these measures would come with some more costs but if can lead to a positive step forward, it’s necessary to make the investment. I once heard a saying at the race track. “Scared Money don’t Make Money”. TNA needs to take some calculated risks to push for an opportunity for success. It’s not just gonna come to them on a whim while they trudge along with show after show in the stagnance of the Impact Zone. They need to really start putting more of an effort into this. But, We Know They Won’t.

If you haven’t had a chance, go to www.facebook.com/voltageentertainment and Like the page. Things are starting to move on some of our web series and short film ideas and I’m outlining the The Wrestle Center show and will start getting things together for that.

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